Beekeeper Insights On Iz Honey Bee Nutrition Supplements
Beekeeper Insights onHoney Bee Nutrition SupplementsizSummary Report of Beekeeper InterviewsApril 2017
Report produced byBeekeeper Insights on Honey Bee Nutrition Supplements 1
Table of ContentsExecutive Summary: Beekeeper Insights on Honey Bee Nutrition Supplements . 3Recommendations for Collaborative Actions . 4Introduction . 6Summary of Interviews . 8Supplemental feeding: Importance, objectives, and defining success . 8Natural forage . 9Key influencers of feeding strategies . 10Supplemental feed choices . 11Information sources and needs . 12Key research needs . 13Conclusion . 14Beekeeper Insights on Honey Bee Nutrition Supplements 2
Executive Summary: Beekeeper Insights on Honey Bee Nutrition SupplementsAs part of its forage and nutrition priority area, the Honey Bee Health Coalition aims to advance precompetitive solutions and research addressing honey bee nutrition. The Coalition conducted theBeekeeper Insights on Nutrition Supplements project to identify critical beekeeper knowledge,perspectives, and objectives related to nutrition supplements. The project focused on commercialbeekeepers with extensive industry knowledge. Conversations conducted with 43 beekeepers in personand by phone between December 2016 and February 2017 underscore a demand for cost-effectivecommercial supplements that better mimic the unique properties of natural pollen, whether as“complete” diets or as targeted diets responsive to specific seasons, geographies, life cycle stages, andcommercial beekeeping objectives. These products should be accompanied by transparent ingredientand nutrition information and backed by easily-accessible, field-validated, peer reviewed, independentresearch with results-oriented outcomes to help inform feeding strategies. This assessment’s findingsreflect the experiences, opinions, and perceptions of participating beekeepers and were collectedqualitatively through interviews.Importance of supplemental feedingInterviewed beekeepers generally agreed that it is necessary to provide bees with supplemental foodsources. Participants emphasized the loss of bee forage and habitat, including due to the expansion ofcorn and soybean in the United States and Canada, which has replaced other crops and wild plants thatpreviously provided natural forage for honey bees. As a result, beekeepers have increasingly providedsupplemental feed throughout the year, causing increases in feed and labor costs. Respondents varied inhow they perceived the importance of fine-tuning supplement choices to improve overall bee health.Feeding strategiesFactors including geography, primary role in the industry (e.g., honey producer, pollinator, queenproducer, or package producer), concerns about disease, and availability and costs of products influencea wide spectrum of supplemental feeding strategies. Practices range from proactively planning seasonalfeeding to reactively feeding hives that appear weak. Some beekeepers use supplements to build uptheir colonies at specific times of year, while other beekeepers use supplements to maintain generalnourishment for their bees throughout the year.Supplemental feed choicesMost beekeepers now purchase a commercial supplement product to save time and labor costs; somebeekeepers still use their own “home brew” (homemade) protein patty recipes. All beekeepers utilizesugar syrup. Some beekeepers desire companies to offer pollen patties that address specific regional,seasonal, and/or life cycle challenges and objectives. Beekeepers also cited availability and cost as keydrivers of supplemental choices. Some would like to see more transparency of ingredients from thecompanies.Defining success for supplementsParticipants emphasized two primary drivers for beekeepers to feed protein supplements: to stimulatecolonies to produce more brood at certain times of year, and to offer nourishment when natural pollenflow is lacking. Most respondents linked success of a nutrition supplement to two main factors: whetherthe bees consume the supplement, and if the colony has increased its brood laying after the supplementhas been fed. However, some beekeepers did not agree with consumption as a measure of success,arguing that the supplements that are most attractive to bees do not necessarily contain the bestBeekeeper Insights on Honey Bee Nutrition Supplements 3
nutrition. Beekeepers also cited a longer bee lifespan and high bee energy levels as determinants of asuccessful supplement.Key research needsBeekeepers are interested in research to discover the key component(s) of natural pollen that could beused to transform pollen supplements into real pollen substitutes that compete with natural pollen.Beekeepers are also interested in research to develop supplements that prevent disease and strengthenthe bee immune system. Finally, beekeepers want to see comparative field efficacy testing ofsupplement products. Respondents varied in how interested they were in the specifics of nutritionsupplement research vs. results-oriented information to improve feeding strategies. The researchpriorities identified by respondents have not been compared against existing research.Information sourcesParticipants overwhelmingly cited their beekeeper colleagues as their primary source of informationregarding nutrition supplements. Although many beekeepers also read bee journals and online articles,they cite a need for independent research studies; they do not trust research funded by supplementsupplier companies. Some beekeepers receive nutritional information from their local supplier.Beekeepers want better access to unbiased, results-oriented information on best feeding practices andproducts.Recommendations for Collaborative ActionsThrough the analysis and synthesis of beekeeper responses, the Honey Bee Health Coalition offers thefollowing recommendations for collaborative actions. These are the recommendations of the Coalitionand are not intended to represent consensus of interview respondents. These recommendations, in noparticular order, are as follows: Create pathways to catalyze innovation in honey bee nutrition supplement research,development, and outreach among a broad range of stakeholders. Facilitate the improvement of nutrition communication channels, with the goal of assistingcommercial beekeepers in navigating the abundance of information available regarding beenutritional needs, nutrition supplement research, and new products on the market.Communication mechanisms should allow beekeepers to easily access transparent and unbiasedresearch and resources to help them make well-informed decisions about nutrition for theircolonies. This process should encourage more robust interaction between researchers andcommercial beekeepers. A resource guide on nutrition may be useful in facilitatingcommunication on research relevant to bee dietary needs, supplement ingredients, feedingstrategies, and supplement effectiveness. Encourage research directed towards the areas of strong interest to beekeepers that addressesissues related to both supplement content and feeding strategies.a. To the extent that research addressing the topics below may have already occurred or isunderway, ensure this research is communicated effectively to beekeepers consistentper the recommendation above.Beekeeper Insights on Honey Bee Nutrition Supplements 4
b. Identify the limiting nutrient(s) in natural pollen that would enable the development ofa true pollen substitute for a “complete” diet.c. Identify critical elements of geographic, seasonal, life-cycle, and objective (e.g., queenrearing) specific supplemental diets that may not be “complete” but can help addresscritical challenges and objectives.d. Identify nutritional factors for strengthening the bee immune system and preventingdisease using supplements, such as the growing availability and use of probiotics andprebiotics, the use of antibiotics (and how this may be impacted by the new VeterinaryFeed Directive), the role of sugar syrups in influencing dysentery and/or nosema, andthe relationship between autumn feeding, varroa mite levels, and winter colony losses.e. Compare the nutritional and economic costs and benefits of “proactive” vs. “reactive”feeding strategies.f. Conduct comparative field studies to test the efficacy of different commercialsupplement products and feeding strategies.g. Evaluate the indicators by which beekeepers define nutritional supplement success. Engage supplement supplier companies, developers, and commercial beekeepers to discuss howthey can collaborate to best meet beekeeper needs and encourage quality productdevelopment. Key issues include transparency and consistency in communication of ingredientsand nutritional values of supplements, as well as development of products to address specificfeeding objectives and challenges. Facilitate the development of a catalogue of natural pollen types, inclusive of information onregional forage species and their known nutritional attributes. Beekeepers have learned whichtypes of pollen are best for their bees based on personal experience and learning fromcolleagues, rather than from any formal assessment classifying pollen. Creating acomprehensive catalogue of natural pollen types would assist commercial beekeepers inscouting for the best forage available in each season and would also assist researchers andsupplement developers in identifying supplemental feeds to mimic the highest-nutrition pollens.Beekeeper Insights on Honey Bee Nutrition Supplements 5
IntroductionPurposeHoney bees, like all animals, require essential nutrients to survive and reproduce. The basic nutritionalrequirements of honey bees include the appropriate ratio of carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids,vitamins, minerals, and water to ensure survival and reproduction. However, honey bee nutrition is arapidly evolving field of science with much yet to be understood about the ideal natural andsupplemental nutrition for managed bees. Furthermore, agricultural, ecological, and economic forcesthat impact honey bee nutrition – including the commercial management and movement of coloniesacross vast geographies for pollination and honey production – create unique challenges for beekeepersseeking to provide optimal nutrition for their bees.The Honey Bee Health Coalition is a diverse coalition that brings together beekeepers, commodity andspecialty crop producers, agribusinesses, supply chain companies, NGOs, universities, and agencies topromote a vision of Healthy Bees, Healthy People, Healthy Planet. The Coalition’s mission is tocollaboratively implement solutions that will help to achieve a healthy population of honey bees whilealso supporting healthy populations of native and managed pollinators in the context of productiveagricultural systems and thriving ecosystems. The Coalition focuses on four priority areas: forage andnutrition, crop pest control, hive management, and outreach and education. The Coalition’s NutritionWorking Group is comprised of leading honey bee health stakeholders including beekeepers,apiculturists, and nutrition researchers.As part of its forage and nutrition priority area, the Honey Bee Health Coalition aims to advance precompetitive solutions and research addressing honey bee nutrition. The Beekeeper Insights on NutritionSupplements project was launched to identify critical beekeeper knowledge, perspectives, andobjectives related to nutrition supplements. This project was undertaken as a preliminary stakeholderassessment – or stakeholder conversations – to inform future discussions and activities of the Coalitionand the bee health community. The emphasis was on qualitative storytelling to uncover beekeepers’insights rather than quantitative data collection.Interview ApproachThe effort recruited commercial-scale beekeepers from a variety of geographies in the United States andCanada, representing a diversity of operations including: commercial almond pollinators, commercialpollinators of non-almond crops, commercial honey producers, commercial queen producers, andcommercial package producers. The assessment focused on beekeepers with more than 300 hives, morethan 10 years of experience in commercial beekeeping, and experience with nutrition supplements(commercial and/or home brew recipes). Several non-commercial scale beekeepers known to be leadersin the industry and in nutrition supplement science were also interviewed.Between December 2016 and February 2017, 43 beekeepers were interviewed in person or over thephone. Most interviews were conducted in Galveston, Texas from January 10-14, 2017 at the NorthAmerican Beekeeping Conference and Trade Show. Nine participants were Canadian beekeepers, andthirty-four were from the United States. Approximately one-third of United States respondents werebased in the Western U.S. (mostly in California with one each in Arizona, Oregon, and Montana), onethird were based in the Southern U.S. (split between Louisiana, Texas, and Florida, with one in Georgia),and one-third were based in the Mid-West or Northeast (in North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, WestBeekeeper Insights on Honey Bee Nutrition Supplements 6
Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kansas, New York, and Maine). All Canadian beekeepers interviewed werebased in Western Canada (in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, with one in British Columbia.BEEKEEPER LOCATIONSWestern United StatesMidwestern United StatesSouthern United StatesNortheastern United StatesWestern Canada21%n 99%n 428%n 1226%n 1116%n 7For their primary roles in the beekeeping industry, approximately one-third of participants describedthemselves as primarily honey producers, one-third described themselves as primarily commercialpollinators, and one-third described themselves as both honey producers and pollinators. A little overone-third of respondents also sell packages or raise queens as a portion of their business.The chart below indicates how many respondents were involved in each role in the beekeeping industry.Many beekeepers identified involvement with multiple industry roles; the total number of responsesreflected in the table is thus greater than the total number of 43 beekeepers interviewed.BeekeepingIndustry RolesRespondent in EachRolePollination25Honey Production25Queen Production10Package Production6The interviews asked open-ended questions about ideal forage and nutrition conditions, feedingstrategies, desired attributes and objectives for supplements, how beekeepers assess the success ofnutrition supplements, greatest challenges with using supplements, and additional information andresearch that is needed.Beekeeper Insights on Honey Bee Nutrition Supplements 7
Results AnalysisInterviews were conducted and analyzed by the Keystone Policy Center (www.keystone.org), anindependent, nonprofit organization that facilitates the Honey Bee Health Coalition. To protectindividual respondent privacy, findings are reported in aggregate, without attribution of specific quotesor data to individual participants. All findings are based on qualitative feedback from participantinterviews. Interview transcripts were analyzed using the qualitative data analysis software programDedoose in order to code and organize the feedback for topical areas and themes.In this report, the following terms are used to describe the approximate frequency of responses: theword “most” means approximately three-quarters or more of respondents; “many” indicatesapproximately half of respondents, “some” and “several” indicate approximately one-quarter ofrespondents, and “a few” indicates five or fewer respondents. Frequency estimates are based onqualitative analysis of themes of responses to open-ended interview questions rather than on selectionof specific and consistent survey options; these themes are thus presented as approximations ratherthan as specific numeric counts.Note: The responses summarized in this report represent the experiences, opinions and perceptions ofthe beekeepers interviewed, reported in aggregate. Participant views have not been compared againstcurrent research, information from commercial suppliers, or other sources. Participant views do notnecessarily represent the opinions or advice of the Honey Bee Health Coalition.Summary of InterviewsSupplemental feeding: Importance, objectives, and defining successImportance and objectives of supplemental feedingBeekeepers generally agreed that it is necessary to provide a supplemental food source for bees. Almostevery beekeeper interviewed feeds nutritional supplements at some point in the year. There are twoprimary drivers for beekeepers to feed protein supplements: to stimulate colonies to produce morebrood at certain times of year; and to offer nourishment when natural pollen flow is lacking. However,respondents varied in how they perceived the importance of fine-tuning supplement choices to improveoverall bee health.A few respondents said that they were content with their feeding strategies and the supplement optionsavailable to them. These beekeepers felt that further fine-tuning their supplement plans would not yieldsignificant improvements to the health of their hives; they were more interested in research on otherstressors like varroa mites.On the other hand, a few respondents felt that nutrition is the key driver of bee health, believing thatthe bee diet influences hive vitality in multiple ways, such as disease vulnerability. These beekeepers areinterested in having a detailed understanding of the dietary needs of the bee, and which food sourcesbest fulfill those needs. These respondents tended to have a background in honey bee research, or wereconnected with a research lab in some capacity; they were also the beekeepers likely to conduct theirown comparative testing of new products.Beekeeper Insights on Honey Bee Nutrition Supplements 8
Most beekeepers interviewed fell somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. These beekeepers areinterested in improving their feeding strategies to build brood more quickly, but are not as interested inthe details of bee nutrition science. They are not sure if the supplements they use are actually targetingwhat the bees need. However, they expressed that they do not have the capacity to run their owncomparative tests on different products, as they cannot risk losing colonies. These results-drivenbeekeepers are likely to change feeding regimens based on strong evidence from their colleagues thatanother product is more effective.Measures of successMost beekeepers judge supplements by how they impact brood levels; they want supplements tostimulate bees to quickly build more brood. Many beekeepers judge nutritional success by the physicalappearance of the bees, specifically how fat the bees look and
Honey bees, like all animals, require essential nutrients to survive and reproduce. The basic nutritional requirements of honey bees include the appropriate ratio of carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and water to ensure survival and reproduction. However, honey bee nutrition is a
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